Shorter Notices
The Twenty Years Truce, 1919-1939. By Robert M. Rayner. (Longman. In. 6d.) THIS is a useful, if not very original, account of the years between the wars. It is clear and reasonably balanced, with an unusual freedom from the more simple forms of British complacency. Rigorous accuracy in points of fact is not Mr. Rayner's strong point, and (as is his right) there is not much sign that he has reconsidered the validity of the standard progressive, optimistic view of the European problem. There are even survivals of views so completely discredited that one had fondly hoped them dead. Thus Clemenceau is described as " France's most embittered partisan." Nor is it true that " one thing was clear from the start • his [Mussolini's] rule was going to be authoritarian," if by "authoritarian " absolute and totalitarian is meant Mussolini had to feel his way, seduce and coax his opponents, and dig himself in. "Arno Primo" was only the year of the conception of the Fascist State, not the year of its birth. A habit of rather banal reflection, will irritate the sophisticated, bu this book is written for a much larger class, who will benefit b being reminded of what went on in Europe between 1919 an 1939; it is a public service to remind the man in the street tha' history did not begin in 1939 or, as some think, on June 22nd, 1941•
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